


The Garden

by NightHowl



Category: One Piece
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Mingo is an ass, Nightmares, clown dad is best dad, minor hurt/comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:15:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22180897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightHowl/pseuds/NightHowl
Summary: Rocy enjoys being in his mother's garden, especially when it comes to looking after a flower he's growing all by himself (okay, maybe with a bit of mom's help). Doffy just doesn't understand that it's worth getting your hands dirty over it for the sake of a pretty flower.
Relationships: Donquixote "Corazon" Rosinante & Trafalgar D. Water Law
Comments: 3
Kudos: 35





	The Garden

**Author's Note:**

> While not the first thing I've wrote for this fandom, it's the first thing I'm willing to post.
> 
> In all honesty my friend shoved an idea at me and cause I'm trying to write a good Rocinante for another fic this was an attempt to figure him out a bit. I want to write this funky clown dad to the best of my ability bc he's such a mood honestly

Rocy woke up to silence. It wasn't different from any other day, with such silence being comforting to the child. What really bothered him, though, was the overly large size of his bed as he climbed out of it. He didn't exactly care for its elegance, but at least it was comfortable. 

He was already stumbling by the time he went to make his way out of the room. He tried lifting the hair out of his eyes but it would just fall back down. He would try this daily, not exactly sure why, when he knew the end result each time. It had just became a habit to lift up his hair to peek at what exactly was making him almost trip. This time, it was a stuffed bear that apparently fell off his bed while he was asleep. He put it back up neatly and smiled before heading out.

Rocy had no idea where his family was, instead just finding some of the maids around the mansion cleaning like they always did. When he almost tripped over a rug that had been folded over recently, the maid who had been sweeping that area seemed to lose it as she apologized profusely. While the way she slammed the stick end of the broom into her metal collar as she seized up in fear bothered the child, Rocy simply reacted the same way he always has. He shook his head and smiled with a "It's okay! I'm just clumsy!" He lifted a bit of his bangs to see her more clearly only to feel mildly disappointed she was just as frightened as always. It always happened this way. He just once again headed along his way to find his parents like he planned, giving up on comforting the maid, but was quickly interrupted by his brother.

"Why don't you ever get your bangs cut, eh, Rocy?" Doffy smiled as he walked over to his brother, once again with those shades that covered his eyes. Rocy couldn't tell if he liked them or not, but he was starting to get used to it. Maybe it'll look weird if he didn't wear them now and Rocy would have to get use to the other way again.

"Should I?" He asked, using his hand to lift most of his bangs up to see what it would look like if he did before letting them fall back down and shrugging. "Maybe I will."

"Of course you should, Rocy! You wouldn't be tripping over things so that the slaves would have to apologize to you. You do that everyday because of your bangs." Doffy explained it, but Rocy wasn't so sure. He looked back at the maid, who was sweeping again but peeking glances at the boys, still very clearly scared of them.

"Is it really because of the bangs?" He asked, letting out a hum before he looked back at his brother. 

"Duh." Doffy responded in a matter-of-fact tone. "You can't see with them all over your eyes, so ofcourse you're tripping everywhere." Rocy thought of his brother as pretty smart, being the older one, but he wasn't sure about this claim. He thought he could see fine, even if it impaired his vision at least a bit. Could his bangs really be the source of his clumsiness?

"I dunno." Rocy decided to continue looking for their parents as his brother followed after him while still trying to convince him that his bangs were the problem, but that caused Rocy to be uneasy. It was part of the reason why he started walking again, his gut telling him that the conversation wasn't exactly fun. Why was unknown, since it was just about some bangs that have overgrown, but maybe it was like Doffy's glasses. Rocy has grown used to them, so it'd be weird to trim them suddenly. Maybe eventually he will, but today he didn't plan on it. 

Rocy was just taking a guess that their parents may be in the garden. They were, with his mother checking on the flowers other maids have tended to and his father mentioning how beautiful they were over her shoulder.

Since they were in the garden, this gave Rocy the opportunity to say good morning to his parents and also check on his own flower, which was one of his favorite things to do. It was a pink stargazer lily, and had only bloomed fully by yesterday, but it was his own. It wasn't like the other flowers that had gardening maids tend to them. Instead, Rocy took care of it with the help of his mother. It brought him joy, especially when it bloomed, and made him feel proud of himself. 

"Why don't you get a slave to do it instead of getting your hands dirty, eh?" Doffy asked. Rocy looked behind him, almost forgetting his brother was following him at least a minute ago, before looking at his hands. They had a bit of dirt on them, but it wasn't that bad. He could always wash them afterwards, so it didn't bother him too much.

"I like doing it myself." Rocy simply answered and went back to patting the soil around the flower. He noticed it might need some water since the soil was dry, but a clicking noise from behind drew his thoughts away.

The click sounded very familiar. Like a gun being prepared to fire. Although there was yet to be any gunshots, red still creeped down to where Rocy's hands felt the soil. The way the thick liquid crept around his hands and began to stain them made him draw back in shock as his heart felt like it jumped into his throat. The anxiety felt familiar, especially as he looked up to see his father collapsed only a bit away from the flower. He was the source of the blood. He was dying. When did he even get there? When did he get hurt?

Rocy, as if knowing what to expect, slowly turned his head to face his brother. A gun was held right between his eyes and he could tell Doffy was glaring behind the shades. His voice sounded older when he spoke. 

"You never listen to me, Corazón. You're just like him."

The loud gunshot woke up Rocinante with a jolt. He could swear his ears were ringing as he held his chest as if checking if his heart had jumped out yet. While these types of nightmares weren't uncommon, they still weren't welcomed and just proved things have changed too much. Now even the oldest memories were tainted.

There was no time to relax and think it over like usual though, for Law was missing from their campsite and by Rocinante's luck he may be trying to find a way off this island and away from him. He immediately began his search for the ill kid because if Law really was sick of Rocinante as per usual and was trying to get away from more hospital visits, the sooner the better for damage control. Least Law knew how to avoid people so there wouldn't be any marines to be called while the kid is doing who knows what. Rocinante could trust him to be safe.

Law actually wasn't that far away. He was in a flower field, sitting among the flowers with a blank expression. There was a specific patch he was staring at, one that caught even Rocinante's eye. He moved to sit beside the kid while observing the pink and white flowers in front of him. It was the stargazer lilies like the one he used to grow. 

Law didn't even seem bothered by the other. If it was a sign he was getting used to Rocinante, at least that was something. Otherwise these months will just continue to grow more depressing as yet another hospital rejects the kid so he hates Rocinante more and more as the days pass. At least that's how he saw it, but with Law just sitting here now like he's not a problem, Rocinante isn't sure anymore. Maybe Law just hated the hospitals and doctors but at least appreciated Rocinante's efforts, even if they were fruitless so far. 

"Is there something special about this flower?" He decided to ask since they had been sitting in silence for a while. Law sighed and closed his eyes.

"Just decided to sit here." That made it mildly awkward for Rocinante. He didn't know how to continue a conversation as dead as this one. Law was probably just thinking and didn't want to be bothered, yet Rocinante wanted to say something still.

"They're a pretty stubborn lily, but I guess that's just one of their easy to care for qualities." He thought it was something nice and light hearted for a conversation, but Law's groan that almost sounded like he was trying to be threatening made it the opposite.

"Is it as stubborn as you dragging me around?" Law's originally blank expression has changed to one of annoyance. Rocinante let out a sigh and took a moment to light a cigarette. Law surprisingly waited patiently for an answer, even when the man nearly set his shoulder on fire once again. He didn't show an ounce of concern though, as it usually went.

"Even if someone gives up on something, it doesn't mean everyone has." Rocinante starts, and Law looks less than interested. "This just happens to be one of those situations. If there's someone like me wanting to help you, then maybe there's a doctor too."

"And if there's not? If this is just a waste of both of our times?" Law now takes his eyes off the flowers to look at Rocinante with a glare. He had to admit he hated how the kid glared and how much it made his anxiety rise.

"Then we tried." It was a simple answer, one that Rocinante thought would end the conversation, but it seems like he misjudged Law again. The response took a moment before it was said though.

"Why even try then? You can get more done in these months if you weren't dragging me around." Law looked at the flowers again, and so did Rocinante. The man reached out for one of the petals and ran his thumb over it, noticing the spots that freckled them like small splatters of blood. A very familiar pattern.

"If I didn't try when I know I could've done something, then I would just be crying about it once it's too late." Rocinante sighs and lets go of the flower. "Of course, I don't want to do that ever again." Law never seemed to respond, but if there was any reaction, he took care to hide it by looking away. It's not like Rocinante was expecting much of one, just giving an honest answer. If it helped their relationship become a bit better, he wouldn't know because Law wouldn't let him. Rocinante was used to it by now so it didn't bother him.

Law looked over to watch as Rocinante got up, almost falling back over, dust himself off, and then casually laughed it off. "We should get going. If it helps, I won't drag you around as much this time." Rocinante said it with a big, yet kind, smile. Law took a moment to recover, due to being surprised by how casually the conversation was shrugged off, before getting up as well.

"Either way I have to go anyways..." Law muttered, kicking at the dirt while looking down. He hid his face as well as he always did, and Rocinante couldn't help but wonder if that meant he was feeling a good emotion he didn't want to show on his face to others. For this situation, he wouldn't know exactly what Law could be hiding. Maybe sympathy? The world may never know until the kid actually decided to open up for once.

For now, he was used to this. A silent yet sassy kid giving him hell each time they entered a hospital. If Law ever does open up, Rocinante isn't sure he'll know what to do but it would probably be one of his happiest days.

With a glance back, it was clear Law was picking the flower Rocinante had most of his attention on. He wondered if the ill kid planned to hide it as they walked around today or just hold it casually like it means nothing. It ended up being the latter, but still filled Rocinante with a small sense of pride either way.

**Author's Note:**

> I actually have a small wonder, a headcanon of sorts, I couldn't manage to include in this fic. I just wonder if the reason Rocinante has the devil fruit he has is because it helps with his trauma from what Doffy did to their father. Maybe certain noises like gun shots and a certain pitch of a click makes him freak out a bit. The fruit could be helpful with that, especially since he was taken in by Sengoku, who works in the Navy where that's pretty normal.
> 
> It snaps a few pieces together that way, yeah?


End file.
